Oil dum ps explode
War o
By N. Funyai Kumbutu
Early Sunday morning as Johan­
nesburg lay sleeping, the false calm
was shattered by three giant,
simultaneous explosions and huge
balls o, tire that transformed the
pitch black false dawn into dazzling
da ylig h t. So rudely awakened,
Jo burgers rushed into the streets to
witness the third, most spectacular
and most daring display ol African
National Congress guerrilla power.
In February there was a bank
takeover and the capture o f 25 white
hostages which ended with the death
ot three ANC guerrillas and two of
their hostages. In March there was
the rocket and mortar attack o f a
police station in Soweto. Two
policemen were kille d and two
others wounded; the guerrillas
escaped and have never been ap­
prehended. NowSASOL...
Shortly after A yatolla Ruholla
Khomeini came to power in Iran, he
cut o ff all o il supplies to South
A fric a . Iran had been supplying
fully 90tf,o o f South A frica’s oil im­
I here was no oil slick where this
ports. Since then no country has
mystery ship sank even though its
openly come m to fill the void and
logs indicated it was supposed to be
South Africa has lately resorted to
carrying more than a million barrels
some very bizzare methods o f
ot oil. Subsequent investigations by
meeting this shortfall. Earlier this
Lloyds proved that the supposed oil
year a ship sailed from the G u lf
had been off-loaded in South Africa
area, disappeared o ff the coast o f
when the ship mysteriously disap­
South Africa and then re appeared
peared (the name had been painted
only to sink shortly afterwards o ff
over). The captain was paid to sink
the coast o f Senegal. It turns out
the ship; he had nothing to lose
that the ship was supposed to be
since he would recover everything
carrying a cargo o f oil and was also
Irom Lloyds. That is how serious
insured by Lloyds o f London.
the oil shortage is in South Africa.
Gasoline is cu rrently selling tor
J2.5O per gallon.
Several years ago an American
company had started co a l-to -o il
conversion plant in South Africa to
nullify any future oil boycott ol the
apartheid regime. Fluor Corp, of
California built the first ot the so-
called SASOL projects worth
several billion dollars. It is just such
storage fa cilitie s that the AN C
guerillas hit last Sunday; as close to
the nerve centre o f South Africa as
to make no difference. The regime
PORTLAND OBSERVER
y
n a t io n a l
understandably reacted with shod
even adm .it,ng that it was a wel
planned operation.
Damage to the facilities has bee,
conservanvely estimated at alrnos
510 million making this the costliesi
single operation in the burgeoning
war ot liberation. The attack was
reminiscent ot the attack on the oil
storage dumps in Harare, Zimbab­
we, towards the end o f that coun­
try s own war o f liberation. As in
that attack also, the Johannesburg
(f lease turn to page 7 col I)
4 a
Volum e 10 Number 22
June S. I960
10C per copy
Architects honor De Norval Unthank
By Kathryn H. Boyle
National honor and distinction
Irom the ranks ot Am erican a r­
chitects will be formerly accorded to
Dr. N orval U nthank Jr. by the
American Institute o f Architects
when they meet in national conven­
tion this first week o f June. At the
A .I.A . 1980 convention in Cincin­
nati, Ohio, Unthank will be received
into the “ College o f Fellows,” one
o f the highest honors that the
A .I.A . can bestow upon its
members.
Unthank, o f the Eugene architec­
tural firm o f Unthank, Seder and
Poticha; Richard A. Campbell, o f
Lampbell-Yost-Gube and Partners,
Portland; and Brooks Gunsul, o f
Zimmer, Gunsul and Frasca, Port-
r-j
|.
land, are the three Oregon architects
elected by the Jury o f Fellows o f the
A .I.A . to be investitured as new
Fellows, the cerm ony w ill be a
highlight o f the convention.
Principal in his own firm o f Un­
thank, Seder and Poticha since
1968, Unthank began his career in
1952 as a partner with Chambers-
Unthank, Designers and Builders.
In 1955 u n til 1968, Unthank
moved with Wilmsen and Endicott
and there rose to be a principal in
that firm . It was later renamed to
become W ilm sen, E n d ico tt, U n­
thank and Associates.
“ My current activities include
work in progress in our office, and
part-time teaching as an Associate
professor in Design at the University
o f Oregon School o f Architecture
and Allied A rts,” Unthank said. “ I
have been teaching at my alma
mater tor the past 15 years, and find
it very interesting and stimulating to
be involved with that along with
full-tim e architectural practices. I
have also served on various national
professional committees, including
the A .I.A . M in o rity Resources
Committee, for which I was chair­
man in 1979.”
O f the extensive list o f significant
work accomplished by Unthank, the
architect says, “ We have been for­
tunate to have had wide and varied
experiences in types and kinds o f
projects, small and large, in various
locations around the state.”
Some o f the projects include: the
Lane C ounty Public Service
(Please turn to page 4 col I,
...... ...... ’" “ ’ com
__
DR. NORVAL UNTHANK
rolice offer reward in Toran murder case
P
o r tla n d n
n l i r p hrxm
iz-iit*» detec­
Portland
police
homicide
tives are offering a 52,500 reward
tor information leading to the arrest
ot the suspects in the murder o f
Calvin Toran, 45 years o f age.
Toran’ s body was located on NW
Saltzman Rd. on Thursday, May 22,
1980, about 10:30 A M.
At approximately 0230 on Wed­
nesday, May 21, 1980, M r. Toran
was abducted from his tob on S.W.
5th and Washington while he was
cleaning the bus shelters. He was
beaten to death in the company van
and transported to Forrest Park,
where his body was dumped over an
embankment.
A t approxim ately 0610 that
morning the van was used in a purse
snatch at N.W. 21st and Johnson
where the 62 year old victim suf­
fered a broken shoulder.
The suspects were also seen
I he Police Bureau would like any
Parking the van in the vicinity o f
inform ation on persons that may
• - 9th and Oak. They arc
match these descriptions, par­
described as:
ticularly
in the downtown area, sent
* I - M ale/w hite, 5-10, slender
to hom icide detectives Steve
build 26 years, dark curly shoulder
Baumgarte or Paul Todd at 248-
ength hair. Has a predominate nose 5756.
described by witnesses as b-ing
A long time resident o f Portland,
similar to “ Bob Hope’s” nose. "
loran was an employee o f Costal
»2 - Male/white, early 30’s, 6’ I
J a n ito ria l and a salesman for
IK0, muscular b u ild, possible
Stassen
Realty at the time o f his
mustache.
death.
Black politics: The absence of power
By Dr. Manning
Mannine Marable
Marahle
SYLVIA MCDANIEL
The trend setter
By Nyewusi Askari
In to d a y ’ s w orld o f Black
fashions, Chicago has Ebony
Fashion Fair, New York has Beverly
Johnson, and Portland has Sylvia
Productions.
Sylvia Productions, the creation
o f Portland’s own Sylvia McDaniel,
is a local modeling agency commit­
ted to developing and presenting
new ways to sell clothing and ac­
cessories.
Founded in June 1979, the agency
has grown from two, to thirteen
contracted models, all from the
P ortland area. The models, a
unique m ixture o t ethnic orgins;
Black, white, and Japanese, reflect
the spirit and flair o f Sylvia, in their
fashion presentations, and Sylvia
w ill have it no other way. " O u r
models strive to be the best models
they can be.” she said.
Sylvia, single, twenty-three years
o f age, and the mother o f a twenty-
two month old daughter, started her
own modeling career at the age o f
twelve. By the time she reached the
age o f eighteen, she had done free
lance modeling, completed finishing
school, and had developed ideas for
the creation ot her own agency.
“ While working as a free lance
m odel, I encountered many
d is c rim in a to ry attitudes from
potential employers, just because I
was a woman and Black. So, I
decided to start my own agency.
However, the first real step was to
develop a philosophy, the essence
which is this...
“ I believe that God gave each o f
us a talent and it is up to each o f us
to seek it out, develop it and go for
(Please turn to page 7 col 3)
t entral to the present-day ab­
sence ot Black political direction
and progressive leadership is the
bankruptcy o f ideas. The great
m ajority o f Black elected and ap­
pointed officia ls have little to no
conception o f what effective
political power is. They do not un­
derstand the realities behind the
mythology o f American politics and
the process o f decision-making.
What is power? Most American
political scientists (white and Black)
would argue that power is the ability
to make decisions which affect our
daily lives. W ith in every society,
various ethnic, economic, social
a n d /o r po litica l forces compete
against each other. Those with
power are able to achieve their own
interests or agendas in the face o f
opposing views. Decision-making is
the prime objective for the power-
seekers.
Sectors o f the Black community’s
leadership have adopted this
definition o f power. The leaders o f
the N .A.A.C .P. and Urban League,
for instance, believe themselves to
be the representatives o f our group’ s
best interests. Through a maze o f
legal struggles and coordinated ac­
tivi»»
tiv ity
w ith
“ lib e ra ..............
l”
white
politicians, corporate executives and
religious leaders, the goals o f the
Black com m unity are achieved
gradually.
As we all must know, this
d e fin itio n o f power is w oefully
inadequate. First, most decisions
that have a major impact upon the
material and social conditions o f
Black lite and labor are not made in
the public sphere. The members o f
Congress, individua lly, have very
little
structural
power.
The
President o f the United States is
hardly the “ most powerful man in
the U .S .” although many people
who vote believe that he is. Second,
power usually assumes the form o f a
“ non-decision” rather than a
“ decision.” In other words, the
a b ility to keep certain ideas or
reforms o ft the public agenda (for
example, free public health care)
rather than exercising authority in
the open.
This understanding o f power was
held by many Black power ad­
vocates and Black nationalists in the
1960’ s. As Stokely Carmichael and
Charles V. H am ilton defined it.
Black power was “ full participation
in the decision making processes af­
fecting the lives o f Black people,
'
and recognition o f the virtues in
themselves as Black people. “ Black
power was a call for “ Black people
to consolidate behind their own, so
that they can bargain from a
position o f strength.” This meant
that Black activists had to agitate
both within the streets and in the
7%
legislatures, pressing for a unity
along race lines to prom ote the
programmatic reforms articulated
by Larm ichael, H am ilton, and a
host o f others. Issues that were held
in a “ non decision category,” such
as a ttirin a tiv e action in jobs fo r
(Please turn to page 2 col I)
»
Petition seeks Moore ouster
The Black United Front plans to
circulate a petition calling for the
hiring o f a Black principal at the
new middle school and for the trans­
fer o f principal LeRoy Moore from
King school. " M r. Moore has been
at King for several years and each
year King has ranked at the bottom
ot the school d is tric t’ s academic
la d d e r,” Ronnie H erndon said.
“ The community deserves to have a
prin cip a l whose perform ance
demonstrates success in educating
Black children.”
Herndon said the BUF w ill begin
planning for a boycott next fall, in
addition to using " a ll the methods
o f civil disobedience that were prac­
ticed so successfully by Dr. Martin
Luther King.”
Herndon charged that the Port­
land Elementary School Principals
A ssociation, which last week
protested the BU F’ s call fo r the
resignation o f M oore and E lio t
principal designee M ildred W ait,
has been " h is to r ic a lly so mute
about the m u ltitu d e o f abuses,
racism and m iseducation that
characterizes the Black child’ s ex­
perience in the P ortland Public
School.”
The public is invited to a com­
munity meeting tonight, June 5th,
at 7:30 p.m. at King Center.
W. Row an, owner-operator of ’ U8A a Beet Barbecue."
lo c a te d at 2115 Union Avenue and hee been open elnce May 3rd.
(Photo by: Dan
Ne la
*